The 2,000 residents of a small California town in the foothills flanking Yosemite National Park on Tuesday were ordered to evacuate as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire that has already destroyed eight structures.
Residents of tiny Mariposa, in the Sierra Nevada mountains southwest of Yosemite in central California, were ordered to flee after flames from the so-called Detwiler Fire jumped over Highway 140 and marched toward the community, threatening 1,500 structures.
“Fire activity continued to grow throughout the night due to ample fuel, and steep terrain,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said on its tracking Web site. “Today firefighters expect unfavorable weather conditions and aggressive fire behavior.”
Photo: AFP
A photograph posted on social media showed empty downtown streets as an orange and pink glow from the fire hovered on the horizon. Downtown Mariposa had its power cut off, according to one reporter on a Fox affiliate.
Cal Fire said utility lines supplying power to the national park were also in the path of the flames.
The Detwiler Fire, which broke out on Sunday afternoon and has since blackened 10,117 hecatares of forest land, was only about 5 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Cal Fire, and posed a threat to several other small foothill communities.
“The fire encroaches on culturally and historically sensitive areas,” Cal Fire said in a status report on Tuesday night.
The fire has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 residents in the area, the California Interagency Incident Management Team said in a tweet.
California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County as the fire was approaching. The proclamation sends resources to the area.
The Detwiler is among more than three dozen out-of-control wildfires burning across the western US as windy, dry conditions prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders and red flag warnings in California, Oregon and Nevada.
Flames have charred more than twice as much land in California so far this year compared with the same time last year, according to Cal Fire.
Record rain and snowfall in the mountains this winter was celebrated for bringing California’s five-year drought to its knees, but it has turned into a challenge for firefighters battling flames feeding on dense vegetation, officials said.
“There’s ample fuel and steep terrain,” Cal Fire spokeswoman DeeDee Garcia said. “It makes firefighting difficult.”
The cause of the blaze remained under investigation.
Additional reporting by AP
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